Alex Wilkes

Chief Executive Officer National Vision Holdings, Inc.

Last Reviewed: September 30, 2026

Executive Summary

Alex Wilkes is Chief Executive Officer and a director of National Vision Holdings, the Duluth, Georgia company that operates America’s Best, Eyeglass World and Vista Optical stores and the DiscountContacts.com website, with more than 1,200 stores in 38 states and Puerto Rico. He came to the company from outside, joining as President in August 2024, and was named CEO eight months later in a planned succession that took effect on 1 August 2025, with long-serving CEO Reade Fahs moving to Executive Chairman. His whole career since 2010 has been in eye care, across both sides of the industry: optical retail at EssilorLuxottica’s LensCrafters and Pearle Vision, and contact lens manufacturing at CooperVision.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of National Vision Holdings since 1 August 2025, and a member of its board since the same month; re-elected a director at the June 2026 annual meeting.
• Joined National Vision as President in August 2024, a role the company described as bringing in fresh perspectives ahead of a gradual leadership transition.
• President, Americas at CooperVision, the contact lens maker, from 2022 to 2024.
• Senior Vice President and General Manager of Pearle Vision at EssilorLuxottica from 2016 to 2022, responsible for the brand and the expansion of its franchise network.
• Earlier at EssilorLuxottica, Vice President of Vision Care (2012-2016) and Senior Director of Strategy (2010-2012) at LensCrafters.
• Began his career in management consulting at Accenture and Deloitte (2003-2010).

Professional Journey

Wilkes studied economics at the University of Iowa and spent the first part of his career, from 2003 to 2010, in management and consulting roles at Accenture and Deloitte.

In 2010 he moved into the optical industry, joining LensCrafters, part of what is now EssilorLuxottica, as Senior Director of Strategy. He became Vice President of Vision Care at LensCrafters in 2012, and in 2016 took charge of Pearle Vision as Senior Vice President and General Manager. Pearle Vision is a franchise business, and National Vision’s own biography credits him with leading the expansion of one of the largest franchises in vision care during his six years there.

In 2022 he moved to CooperVision, the contact lens manufacturer, as President of the Americas, which put him on the supply side of the same industry he had worked in as a retailer.

National Vision hired him as President in August 2024. In April 2025 the board announced that he would succeed Reade Fahs as Chief Executive Officer. Fahs said at the time that the board had brought Wilkes in the previous August hoping for fresh perspectives and a gradual transition to the next generation of leadership. The change took effect on 1 August 2025, when Wilkes also joined the board and Fahs became Executive Chairman. As CEO he signs the company’s quarterly certifications and leads its strategy and growth efforts; the company describes that work as focused on improving the customer and patient experience across its value-priced optical brands.

Education

University of Iowa

B.A., Economics